pash

Hopefully they offer us something for him... Seeing that Smyrlis from our B team (LW) put a goodbye post up on Instagram. His contract was up in two weeks so will be leaving as a free agent, to Panserraikos. I count ten other B team players with lapsing contracts, and I doubt any of them will be extended. Maybe most notable out of that group is Tsaousis.

I'd love to be surprised.

Interesting that we've heard nothing about Greek players (but not surprising). Didn't we fail to sign Hatzidiakos last season? I thought for some reason he had made a permanent move to Copenhagen but that's apparently just a loan with an option to buy. He'd fill in a big gap in our team nicely, IMO. And for strikers...perhaps Fountas from OFI? I don't even know how they managed to get him to begin with, but surely he'd be better than some slob from second division Spain.

So I guess our new assistant/deputy technical director will essentially be doing what Boto said we should do a few years ago. Since Lucescu will not accept any of those kids, what does this mean for this guy's job? Will he be shown the door in the next 6-12 months? https://inpaok.com/865791/o-rolos-tou-panagioti-tsikna-ston-paok/ Or is there some small possibility that this was actually discussed with Razvan and he's actually open to it? Can I hope?

Bulgaria (who is missing their best player in my boy Despodov) were always going to be the easier opponent in this week's games. But it's good to see how easily our guys are cutting through them. Tragic defense.

Tuned in right after halftime, so I missed whatever boredom happened in the first half. Liking what I see, though. For those looking for links - Alfa TV is the actual carrier here, and their live stream isn't geographically locked.

First news I've seen about Ozdoyev in a while. https://inpaok.com/865706/tourkika-senaria-gia-ozntoef/ For me, it's very important for the team to show that they're serious about getting both better and younger by offloading players like Ozdoyev. It's not that I dislike the guy. It's that he's 32 and would be, at best, a rotational-level player for a team that hopes to contend for the championship and go deep in Europe. At this stage in his career, he's not gonna reach new heights of excellence. Anyway, as for that other guy I mentioned the other day from Cagliari - the Turks seem to think we want him too: https://inpaok.com/865698/o-paok-bike-stin-ypothesi-tou-makoubou/ -edit- late edit to share the news that Taison said no to the offer, with the team expected to offer him even more to sit on the bench (oh who are we kidding, he'll be a starter for five more years)...

Yeah but those initial reports were just fan-sites, as far as I can see. I will note, though, that the player has zero reason to move quickly, even if the team wants him to. The only leverage they would have is to overpay so badly that no other suitors could compete. Anyway, seems Tissoudali will be sold, only question is the 1.7mm we're asking for vs the 1.2mm we're being offered. Probably will meet in the middle. A shame, he is quite good. Imagine if we had actually used him. Someone really dropped the ball on scouting him if he came to Greece "with an offer in hand" from the Saudis. And also inexcusable for our coach to not play him for such arbitrary reasons ("he does not yet know what I want"). For Meite, the contract is the main sticking point (as always) - he wants 1.6mm and we want to pay 1.2mm. InPAOK says we'll look elsewhere if we can't come to an agreement, as if this isn't a repeat of last year's absolute joke of a decision making process.

Very much enjoyed waking up this morning to an instagram post by PAOK Today saying the Greg Taylor signing was a done deal, followed immediately by a post saying it wasn't a done deal. Such hard hitting journalism. For anyone who hasn't bothered reading this stuff - he apparently has an infant and is iffy on leaving the country, either with or without his family. Celtic apparently also have an offer out to him. I think it's virtually guaranteed that he will re-sign with Celtic for less money, given the facts and circumstances.

He's a big boy, don't lose sleep over it! Greeks tend to avoid strength training; maybe this will inspire him to go the Ronaldo route instead.

Funny how that happens. This is geolocked but if you have a VPN, novasports does have them. Wild that nobody else seems to. https://www.novasports.gr/web-tv/sport/podosfairo/event/fifa-world-cup/video/14240069/ellada-slovakia-4-1-highlights/

You don't drop a player with as much skill as Pavlidis. I'd be more worried if he wasn't getting all these chances. It'll click eventually. Good game all around. VAR would have made this much more one-sided (in our favor). I think once we got out second goal, the Slovaks took their foot off the gas, though. Also happy that the coach gave the three hot shots another start together. They barely know each other, after all; every minute of game time they can get will help them get into a rhythm together. Quoting this to get your attention to ask you about your avatar. Is that your mother? Is she single?

It should be a knock on him; Bakasetas is garbage

Miguel Vitor, who has played for nine (!) years at Hapoel Beer Sheva, might finally be returning to Portugal. Every once in a while I remember that he's been there forever and has even become an Israeli citizen. Oddly enough I can find virtually no interviews with this guy beyond what PAOK posted almost a decade ago. What a cypher!

Bunch of rumors today. Let's start from the top. MIrko Topic - defensive midfielder who plays for Familcao, contract expires in two years. https://www.transfermarkt.com/mirko-topic/profil/spieler/615302 Antoine Makoumbou - also a DM, plays for Cagliari (I think we were very barely linked with their away-on-loan Romanian striker?). His contract is up in a year but at least one site says this rumor is, as Blackhawk likes to say, "Fake News! Sad!" https://www.transfermarkt.com/antoine-makoumbou/profil/spieler/460651 David Jurasek - we were linked with him before, but he preferred to stay at Hoffenheim (where he's on loan from Benfica). He's a left-back, though, so if we get the Taylor then this won't go anywhere. And it seems only some Portuguese press thinks he's even on his way out. https://www.transfermarkt.com/david-jurasek/profil/spieler/500054 As for Sergio Pena, it seems some team from Lima really wants him. We paid very little to get him and it seems Lucescu is dead set against playing him, so logically he should move on.